Simpleton
by Tsuki Fox
Summary: Drabble Series: Kyo knows that he is a heavyhearted simpleton just by the shine of Yuki's eyes beneath him. But never before has he let that hinder him. slash
1. A Simpleton's Matter

Inspired by the song "Sometimes (I Wish)" by City and Colour

I hold no claims, nor claim to own, Fruits Basket. No profit is being made or is intended to. It is all in good fun.

A/n: This story is about m/m or a relationship between two men, with heavily implied sex. Also are references to reincarnation. Approach with whatever caution you see fit.

* * *

Kyo couldn't understand how they'd gotten here.

Surely it has something to do with the rain that had fallen so suddenly and so hard the two of them had been soaked before it could be acknowledged. And there was something about the porch, the way the wood had soaked in the water to smell dewy and musky…

…_Yuki flat on his back as they rubbed their feet together to pry off his soaked socks_…

Of course Yuki and he had been fighting, Kyo recollects as he tries to catch his breath.

With his eyes closed he can picture everything (but the present – that has to stay far away) such as the way Yuki's eyes had flickered with something less than hate right before his punch had been deflected.

Their fight had gone ignored.

Tired of listening to his house being broken down around him Shigure had holed away in his office. Music blasted from beneath the locked door in an attempt to overcome their hateful screeches. As operatic voices cried out loudly in crescendo the rain had doused their heated debate.

The vigil burning flame of rage that kept Kyo warm, that kept him breathing, cooled to an ember and all Kyo could focus on were Yuki's eyes. Both had faltered at the sound of thunder wailing over their heads. Even though Tohru was somewhere out there in the storm neither thought beyond the irises mirroring each other in their watchfulness.

Yuki had been holding fiercely to Kyo's wrist but now the grip loosened. As if possessed Kyo had, instead of taking the moment to break free, had found his body drawn closer to Yuki's. Kyo clasped the ring of pale fingers around his tan flesh and drew the pale line of Yuki's arm in until their noses touched.

Yuki faltered, his eyes narrowed in focus as if the sudden proximity scared him. Beneath the wet scent that surrounded Yuki was the teasing aroma of ink and a fresh leaf of paper. A warm shiver ran up Kyo's spine at the scent, sensing its familiarity as it pulled him in. He wanted closer to the smell, to study it and to taste it upon Yuki's flesh.

A purr rumbled to life with his chest at the idea.

Kyo's attempts to get ever closer were thwarted by the way Yuki flinched back from the attention. Calmly as one would with a wild animal Kyo paused at every wince, slow and temperate until finally he could feel Yuki's harsh breath upon his cheek. Before his eyes was an expanse of pale flesh and tightly closed eyelids that left Kyo magnetized.

His hand had wrapped around the back of Yuki's neck to hold the other boy still.

It wasn't a tight grip but rather soft and questioning as if Kyo had wanted to ease any fear from the rat before he pressed their lips together.

He remembers the whimper strangled from Yuki's tight pressed lips. The sound of it burned in the redhead's blood, breaking his self-control. Two sets of hands took on a life of their own pulling Yuki backwards. It was an awkward attempt at a waltz, hands struggling and lips sealed tight together as the moved toward the porch.

Beneath Kyo's bare feet the grass slipped, wet, and made him hiss into the warm cavern of Yuki's mouth. Hands grasped at Kyo's forearms to help with balance as their tongue met in a moment of dual moans. Time sped and slowed, lost and out of control as they stumbled together. Kyo's knees had hit the wood of the deck too soon and his body pitched backwards with the cat-like grace he'd cursed. Kyo twisted their bodies as they fell. With Yuki lying upon the wood Kyo could press every inch of himself along the lithe body.

Then it had been frantic, their hands prying and pulling until their clothes were far from proper. The shirt Tohru had ironed for Yuki was now slick against him, like tissue paper in its consistency. Kyo's calloused fingers could trace the contours of Yuki's ribs and find the lines of the rat's body without the use of his eyes. Nails kneaded at Kyo's shoulder blades as Kyo slid up and down Yuki's torso.

No longer is Kyo sure of how they'd managed to breath; for all he knows they'd rolled until a wall obstructed them and one had pulled the other back to their feet so their waltz had could continue into the house.

By some miracle the swells and crashes of Shigure's music muted their gasps and whines–

_"Oh god, oh god, Kyo…"_

–The rest of their clothes following their ill-fated socks as they wandered into walls and doorjambs. The white wash was harsh as Kyo was pressed and molded between the wall and Yuki's shirtless chest. It scraped his bare back while Yuki slid down his chest, teeth replacing the heat of bare skin.

Kyo's lip stung at the memory of being chewed as he'd drawn his hands around the pale flesh of Yuki's waist. The skin at the base of his spine was soft and smooth, nearly hairless and warmed by the touch of Kyo's fingers along its length. Kyo couldn't remember ever wanting something as much as he had in that moment wanted to spend the rest of his life tracing patterns over Yuki's skin.

Whispers were too harsh to share the same air as the violins rushing wildly through climaxes. A piano's melody lent to the sound of strings as their lips caught together again. The rain played percussion above them as words became useless and both held their tongue. The whispered begging that escaped in the need for air seemed to belong to the air itself.

"_Please… please, yes…"_

Yuki had proven pliant as they stumbled into the stairs. Their bodies had fallen upon the wooden steps with mouths still somehow fused together as teeth nicked at over eager tongues. The belt buckle at Kyo's waist was deftly pulled loose before he could protest, not that he would, and the belt slithered from his jeans with the help of thin pale fingers.

The same pale fingers ran over his hips when the belt had clattered to the wooden floor behind them. It was a sound that should have been too loud but all Kyo could hear was the thrum of his own blood rushing in his ears as he ran his tongue down Yuki's throat. Encouraging sounds escaped at the touch and wrought surprise within them.

Kyo's eyes remained closed tight to the present panting below him. He knows the tiniest of peeking will greet him with the sight of Yuki's collarbone.

And the petal purple bruises his teeth caused as he pressed Yuki into the stairs so he could taste more of the rat.

Who'd known the damn rat could sound so much like a cat as he rolled his hips for more? The sound of purring had driven Kyo senseless as it escaped into the air between them. Kyo's hands had fit too perfectly on the sharp hipbones. The way Yuki's pants had slid off his legs should have been too easy.

In the background a woman had sang in Spanish and banished all dark thoughts from their clouded minds.

With each rising scale Yuki had rolled his hips. His erection pressed firm against Kyo's thigh as the cat tried to keep time with the harried pace. Groans were pulled from Kyo's mouth as if they'd been strung together by a string and reeled into Yuki's panting body. Kyo's head had fallen to Yuki's chest with a shuddering moan as Yuki's knee passed closely to his own erection. The moment of closed red eyes had given Yuki the opportunity to flip their positions.

It had felt just as right to be beneath Yuki, to have the lips work him into a puddle of groaning goo. To cause his own breathless voice to beg for Yuki to –

" _- Just don't stop!" _

The rat had teased and worn a smirk that lacked malice as his tongue darted along every crook in Kyo's physique. Kyo's fingers tightened on Yuki's hips as they arched together. Nimble fingers danced at the edges of Kyo's unbuttoned jeans until the cat jerk so hard their bodies were wrenched further up the stairs.

The jeans joined the path of stripped clothing from the porch and the bedroom at the end of the path called through a caroling of bells. Kyo moved to wrap the lithe being in his arms hissing as legs wrapped sensually around his waist. He carried Yuki up the wood, his feet less then silent on the surface as he tried to get there faster, so the teasing rat could continue the torture his teeth had waged on Kyo's chest.

That all explained how they'd gotten to be in Yuki's bed and end up panting as they come back down…

… To their wits.

But there was no answer to the resounding "why" behind this whole situation.

There was no reason for Kyo to be lying atop the one person he attributed to all the bad in his life. Kyo couldn't find a reason to have kissed his most hated enemy or to have been so gentle with the amethyst eyed man when he'd trembled within his grip.

_"Shh, relax…"_

Kyo had answered each flinch with a kiss and each half hidden cry with his forehead pressed to Yuki's. An infinite amount of patience had entered his body and been displayed before the almost ethereal being in his arms.

Yuki was gorgeous and it wasn't as if Kyo could hide the observation. Even his day-to-day taunts couldn't completely conceal the awe with which his eyes drank Yuki's form. The way Yuki stood straight without so much of a pang of pain.

Or the way those overly large eyes that Kyo liked to call effeminate could rip through his own red tinged gaze and tear him down to his odds and ends.

There was a naked feeling to being with Yuki that Kyo had ignored until Yuki had blinked up at him. The white heat had finally dimmed behind their eyeballs and all things were suddenly crystal clear.

In that second Kyo had closed his eyes tight and pressed his forehead to Yuki rapidly shaking chest. Fingers had splayed on Kyo's back, tickling the skin above his spine. In that one moment the cat had felt safe.

Not the safety of a parent checking your closet for monsters or the safety of a friend beside you as you cross the school grounds toward the monster sized kid who had stolen your lunch money.

With Yuki pressed into all of his sense Kyo felt as if he could fall asleep for an hour, or for all of eternity and he would never have to worry.

The heat from Yuki's body would ward off the cold. Those wonderfully bright eyes would watch dutifully for each shadow of harm and in their haunting way the eyes would watch his very soul. It was safe enough to die in the rat's arms and Kyo couldn't quite figure out how he knew that.

Slowly Kyo opened his eyes and lifted his gaze to Yuki's. One look and the enormity of their situation slams into the redhead's chest.

In one moment a million lives are relived, all of it coming back to them in this nearly perfect moment.

Every empty crevice of Kyo's heart is flooded with a familiar heart-wrenching sadness.

The moment he can look down on Yuki's flushed face and his hesitant smile Kyo has no reason to question fate.

The urge to sob quickly follows and suppresses any joy he could have at being reunited. The weight of their separation is as real as the oceans of tears their love has wrought.

In and of itself the sight of Yuki made it painfully clear to Kyo how many times they had come together in lives long before. The reason his fingers had felt so right on Yuki's skin was because they come together with the press of fingers hundreds of times before. Kyo's fingers, in other forms, had run the expanse of Yuki's arms as they quivered from the force of each thrust. Kyo knew he'd kissed Yuki's eyelids before.

The words he'd whispered in Yuki's year were a recycled reassurance that he now knew meant much more then he could ever have intended. The way it felt to have Yuki beneath him, the weight of Yuki's chest over his. It felt right because it had happened more times then they'd planned in their centuries together.

They'd been struck by stones as their fingers had laced together in fierce determination, if his memory was to be believed.

A nose ran a gentle trail up Kyo's collarbone to run in circles just below his ear. Kyo murmured what was less of a moan and more of a confession as lips kissed at the skin and teeth nipped at his ear.

"I've missed you, love." The words were breathed into Kyo's ear in a voice that was deceptively older then Yuki's body. A shiver at the familiarity ran down the cat's spine as he finally opened his eyes.

"And I, you," he murmured with a tone of tenderness, his own voice edged with age. From below him Yuki looked up, replacing his nose with the gentle caress of his palm as he lay back on the pillows. There is the gentlest of smiles on Yuki's lips as he regarded Kyo, compassionate and considerate over a shared frustration.

"The rain has always been your downfall," the being said through Yuki's voice. Kyo stares into the eyes of a lover he has lost and found over time. Every moment of centuries past lies just beyond his consciousness, swelling behind Yuki's eyes as well.

Memories are already pushing for attention as Kyo cups his hands around Yuki's face. A calm acceptance overtakes Kyo in place of his original panic and through it all Kyo feels he should cry. He'd tried so hard to quench this urge for the rat but once again their bond had proven too heavy.

Yuki coos, running his hands over every expanse of Kyo's visible skin as the cat begins to shudder in dry sobs. He presses kisses to Kyo's cheeks and sweeps up the tears as apologies fall from Kyo's lips.

The apologies, like everything else, are ancient.

"It isn't so easy is it my dear," Yuki asks and Kyo can only shake his head because they've tried this so many times before. The rat had tried for centuries of lives to repent for his betrayal by freeing his beloved. He had tried to stay away but it never worked. And then when they had reconciled the Sohma family had come along and their love proved life threatening.

But the damned emotion wouldn't die because the lifetimes they had in peace will never be enough.

"I'm sorry my love," Kyo choked through the sobs, his voice a stutter as he grasps tightly to Yuki's forearms. Red lines appear along the pale flesh as Kyo's nails slipped. "I tried so hard but I can't hate you."

A wail of sorrow clogs his throat as Yuki pets his hair and whispers more consoling words.

"It is my fault," the voice says and Yuki's fingers slide down his cheek in unison. A sad smile takes the blame as it adds, "If I had not been so selfish in my youth this torment would not have been yours to bear."

Tears are sliding down both their cheeks and Kyo can see Yuki's smile breaking on his face they look at each other. Their hands run patterns over all bare flesh because it has been eons too long since they've felt each other. Then Kyo is holding tightly across Yuki's back as the rat breaks into sobs of his own.

"We can go to the dragon," Yuki rationalizes into Kyo's shoulder. "This one is far more compassionate then the last."

The cat feels a pain in his heart at the broken pleading tone to the rat's voice as he tries so desperately to seem okay with the cat erasing the memories of them from his mind. Kyo needs not look into the irises of amethyst to know such a deed would kill his beloved. The redhead smiled and ran a hand over the tears tracks as he smiles so sadly back.

"You could have your happiness with the human. We can try again next time," Yuki murmurs as he is pulled into a harsh embrace, his nose pressed into Kyo's shoulder. His tears make puddles on the tanned flesh as he wrapped his arms over Kyo's shoulders.

"I've gotten exceedingly good at waiting."

The words are a half hearted attempt at a joke.

Kyo rolled them over on the mattress to hold Yuki tight to his chest. He takes up the reassurances and gentle words until Yuki's sobbing protests subside. As the being falls asleep in his arms Kyo knows that erasing their memories would only hold back an inevitable punishment. It would not stop what has been a force in the journey of their souls.

He also knows they are fools of the highest order. It was stupid to leave such a mess in sight of the ever-loyal dog; it was even more stupid for their souls to have become intertwined in the first place.

Kyo knows that staying in this bed with Yuki is the same as having a death wish.

But nothing could pry him away now.

Instead he pulls the sheets up around their naked bodies and runs his fingers through the tresses of dulled silver. With Yuki's warm breath upon his chest Kyo stares up at the ceiling. They are fools for love; have been and it seems always will be. It is in this thought Kyo admits to his own stupidity because they have wrought hell upon themselves and Akito's wrath will fall quickly.

But he'd rather be a simpleton he amends as Yuki's arms wrap around his waist. Leaned over to bury his face in Yuki's hair he can smell the freshness of new paper and ink soaked into salty skin. Memories of green grass two centuries away and a time when Yuki's hair was brown drag him into welcome sleep.

The approaching storm can wait.

* * *

A/n: I realize that anyone who reads "Long Road Home" will be less then pleased that I wrote this instead of adding to that cliffhanger I left with... there is more to come but this idea has been biting at me for a while. (My largest apologies to anyone who also read "Electric Angel" and especially those reading "Stellar." I promise updates soon.)

I liked the idea that there was more to the story then what the legend provides and that maybe with each new birth of the zodiac animal some part of the past is retained. I might elaborate more further along... we'll have to see.


	2. Heartbeats

**Heartbeats**

**19th century England  
**

The countryside outside of London was too congested for Kyo to understand. Though his father had been a farmer for the kingdom, even the palace at times, the family was still left rubbing two pennies together at times. Kyo had never seen it as a worthwhile exchange and being the second son of four he had no fear of having to stay and man the farm when his father was gone.

Though, Kyo thought as he hitched his pack higher on his shoulder, he shouldn't have said so much aloud. With only the clothes on his back and a few hard earned dollars to his name Kyo set out down the dirt road with a swagger in his step. He didn't know where he was headed but even Ireland sounded better then the pungent shadow of London. So he walked in his calfskin boots as far as the third closest settlement – and then walked more.

On the fourth day of his journey Kyo's dark hair was matted with dirt and weeds. His feet were tired and his skin, his clothes, wrinkled with the rain that had soaked him over the course of the night. He'd begun his journey in the sun but now he cursed the hellish clouds, it was their fault crops came and went and for the dirt road turning to red mud beneath his feet.

Grumbling beneath his breath Kyo dragged his body from the ditch that had been his housing for the night. He'd taken one step onto the road and was nearly run over by the wagon going past.

"Whoa," an older man called, bringing his single old and tired horse to a halt. He caught to his hat with the back of his hand and blue eyes surrounded by wrinkles of long life turned toward the muddy figure. It was, the man saw, merely a boy in rumpled clothing. No older then his grandson, the old driver concluded.

"Aye, boy," he shouted to Kyo. Kyo's eyes narrowed up at the man as he struggled to remove himself from the mud. When the man had shouted Kyo had stumbled and slipped bottom down into the mud.

"Where's a child like you heading to," the old man asked with a nod toward the horizon.

Kyo growled and pulled himself up straight to return, "I have seen fifteen summers. I am not a child."

The old man chuckled with a twinkle in his eyes.

"I apologize, my boy," the old man said. He tipped his hat to the lad but looked him over again. "My manners are always flying from my mind, you must forgive an old man."

Kyo looked cautiously at the old man, his stance wary as he clung to his pack. He'd heard of the tricksters and swindlers that roamed the roads. Kyo had only barely kept his small amount of money in his grasp by avoiding inns and rooms with board. Now, however, his stomach was groaning and the back of the wagon looked a nice enough place to have a nap.

"Where are you headed my boy?"

Eyes still on the wagon bed Kyo replied, "Nowhere in particular, sir. Just a small village far enough from London to evade the smell and enough land that I might settle."

"A farmer," the old man asked with a scrutinizing glance. Kyo nodded again, his hands tightening over his pack as he swayed in his boots. The old man clicked his tongue at the sight and being a truly compassionate soul he tipped his hat low and barked for Kyo to get into the wagon.

"I just might know a place like that," the old man explained. Then Kyo was in the wagon and the old man snapped the reigns.

"Who are you, sir?" Kyo questioned as he was overtaken with drowsiness. The man chuckled as the wagon went over a fairly large bump.

"Martin, my boy," the old man introduced. "The finest farmer you'll find this side of London – if I do say so myself."

&

Martin did not boast, Kyo discovered. The farm that he awoke upon was no larger then his father's but each pasture was green with growth and none looked to have been affected by the passing rainstorms. The pastures surrounded the small cottage of a house in which, Martin explained, was his wife and grandson. There was an air of melancholy when Martin spoke of his family, as if there was something missing to the story. However, Kyo knew not ask and merely extended his gratitude.

Kyo moved to make his way through town but Martin stopped him with a look. Kyo's throat felt tight as the older man regarded him with a reproachful look.

"Do you not like my farm, boy?"

"It is wonderful," Kyo quickly established, his cheeks pink with embarrassment. He felt as he had as a child and caught in an act of mischief. "I merely wished to cause no more inconvenience."

Martin's eyebrows rose in a cross between disbelief and condescension. Without the eyebrows settling on a specific Martin moved closer.

"How much money do you have on you?"

Kyo's mouth went dry. Unable to speak he pulled free his money and showed it to the man who clicked his tongue. It took all of Kyo's courage not to close his hand around the money, as he feared it being stolen. Martin did not try to take the money. He merely nodded then directed them both inside.

At a table, settled in the center room, a boy with brown hair of usual length labored over a pad of paper. His pink tongue stuck from between his lips as he concentrated with the smallest of wrinkles across his nose. The sound of the door opening and slamming did not seem to draw his attention, to which Martin laughed loudly.

The boy jumped, bright eyes of a purple hue widening on his grandfather. A pink flush rose over his cheeks as he murmured a greeting. His head bobbed in greeting and for a second Kyo assumed the boy would return to work. Instead the gaze shifted to Kyo and the impossibly wide purple eyes grew larger at the sight. His pencil dropped from his fingers and the pink flush grew darker.

"H-hello," he murmured. Kyo tilted his head a fraction in confusion and in that second the boy's gaze dropped back to the table.

"That is my grandson, Yuki," Martin explained. "Yuki, make some tea for our guest, Kyo."

The boy gave a nod of the head, his chair scraped along the floor as he pushed away from the table. A cast iron kettle was set to boil and as Kyo and Martin replaced Yuki at the table the boy did not turn around. Instead shaking fingers ran up to his hair and tugged at random strands and the fingers of his other hand clenched open and closed. The cogs in his head turned desperately for semblance.

"Red eyes," Yuki whispered to himself. The kettle before him fell out of sight as a million different images began to penetrate his mind. He did not understand them and had the sense that only a child could that he shouldn't know this feeling. Red eyes, red eyes, Yuki thought as he threw his arms about his chest as if to protect him from the images. Though they were fuzzy they were clearly real and instilled fear in him.

"Yuki," his grandfather's voice came as a booming shout – rousing him from his dream. A hand lay over his should and Yuki startled alive with a gasp. The kettle whistled before him and with clumsy haste Yuki exclaimed apologies. He nearly spilled tea everywhere but the pinnacle moment was when he tripped over his feet and barely caught himself and the tea by slamming a hand to the table. The guest gave a hiss and Yuki realized his mistake a moment too late.

Beneath his palm was Kyo's hand and though Yuki whipped backwards quickly he still felt the heat of the red-eyed boy's skin. The heat traveled through Yuki's blood with a screaming song and it was all Yuki could do to keep his mouth shut. Instead he straightened, just as the images straightened, and though he placed the tea down before Kyo in calm Yuki's mind was conquered.

The cat had returned, Yuki's mind screamed and it took more will then he was aware had to tear his gaze away.

"Grandmother is in the field, shall I fetch her," Yuki asked in a whisper. He was already standing in the doorway. His grandfather declined the offer but dismissed Yuki nonetheless. Excused Yuki ran from the house and to the farthest reaches of the small farm. Memories of running overtook him and his gallop became one of intertwined terror as he searched for a place to rest. His body knew it was only twelve summers old but suddenly he was aware of a thousand years biting at his heels. Amongst leaves of barley Yuki sank to his knees – or rather the newly awakened being – sobbing tears of incomprehension and joy.

Back in the cottage Martin sighed and rubbed wearily at his temples. He tried to excuse Yuki's behavior to the stranger but he barely understood it himself.

"I'm afraid my grandson has endured much," Martin murmured as his head settled in his palm. "We lost his father, Henry, when Yuki was seven. His mother, my daughter, remarried last spring."

"Yuki didn't go with her," Kyo murmured as he looked toward Martin. A dry laugh left the old man's lips and he shook his head.

"Nay, Elisa has always had a flighty air to her and her new husband has no need for another son."

Kyo cupped his hands around the cup of tea and said no more. A silence descended and Kyo wondered when he would be allowed to leave. He could feel his money poking in his pocket and focused almost singularly on it. Wondering whether or not he would be able to buy land Kyo nearly missed Martin's proposition.

&

For five years Kyo worked as an assistant to Martin on their farm.

"Work for me until you have earned enough for your own land," Martin had said on that fateful day. "In exchange I will teach you what I know."

The chunk of change that had rattled in Kyo's pocket upon arrival grew substantially as the summers past. And over the course of time Martin stayed true to his word. It was often that Kyo thought the old man taught him with the enthusiasm of a father teaching a son. Which couldn't be far from the truth.

After his first month Kyo had realized that Yuki wasn't much meant for the life of the farmer. The brunette boy always had ink on his fingers – sometimes on his lip as well, from chewing his quill – and would become distracted during work. For three more years Yuki ran round the farm performing menial tasks and Kyo observed quietly.

There was something different about Yuki, Kyo had concluded. It was as if his mind was beyond the farm and England itself. Yet when Yuki caught Kyo staring his calm visage would turn into a bright smile.

When Yuki turned fifteen he was accepted to study in the city. The long summer was spent preparing him for the journey; inkbottles were stopped and stored, Yuki prepared new quills on the front steps. During this summer Kyo noticed new things about Yuki; how the brunette went out of the way to visit him in the fields. The way Yuki's fingers seemed to stretch toward him but always stopped short. Or how Yuki always asked endless questions about Kyo, who preferred silence.

The two years Kyo worked the farm while Yuki was away were too silent for him. He hadn't expected to miss the brunette boy but Kyo soon realized that he it was the aching absence of your shadow. It hurt and confused him to think that way.

It was painful enough to drive Kyo away from Martin and his wife, Acadia, and the farm. He picked up and traveled across town to buy land and spent two years tilling the land on his own. Many invitations were sent from the elder couple but more often then not Kyo could find a reason to stay away. He nearly starved the first winter without Acadia's stews but in the end he managed.

It had been seven years since Kyo had seen a sibling or parent and spring was blooming across his land. Standing in the doorway of his house as the land was lit by early morning light Kyo noticed a figure coming up the road. The distance made the figure featureless and the only remarkable detail to be seen was brown hair. Kyo remembered having a sibling with brown hair but doubted the two were one and the same. Instead he remained in the doorway and watched the traveler come to his gate.

A man with a hat sitting low on his head paused at the edge of Kyo's lawn. Hair hung long on the stranger's head, a tangled mass brushing at the man's shoulders. His face was lightly shadowed by a traveler's beard, as if the man were a week without a shave. However, Kyo could not judge, being at least a year without a shave himself.

"You look like a farmer," the man called humorously. Kyo ran a hand up his recently shorn head and gave a nod.

"And you look in need of some rest," Kyo replied lowly. "Are you passing through or planning to stay?"

The man paused on the walkway, the gate swinging shut behind him as he reached up to grasp his hat. The man laughed, his voice a low, steady pitch that sounded somehow familiar to Kyo's ears. Then the man lifted his chin and the hat from his head. Beneath the years were Yuki's shining eyes and his smile.

"Yuki," Kyo named. His voice was barely above a whisper and his red eyes widened in surprise. "You've returned from London."

Yuki nodded and said, "Yesterday. Imagine my surprise to have found you gone and little news of you beyond the location of your house."

"It has been busy these last years. The saplings are struggling to life."

Yuki did not refute him but merely continued to smile. Across his shoulder hung a satchel and smudges of ink stained the skin of his forearm. Kyo tried to take in the sight of the younger man but was too stunned to notice the way Yuki leaned his body toward Kyo or even how there was an unnecessary gleam of wetness to the purple irises.

"May I come in," Yuki finally asked. His voice was quiet and hesitant as if fearing denial. Kyo could do nothing other then nod and step out of the way.

Yuki awoke with the midday sun shining in through the window. It was warm on his skin and lit the bedroom in warm hues. Looking around Yuki found he was alone – which was of no surprise – and guessed that Kyo had gone to the fields. A whistling sound grew in volume from another end of the two-room cottage; it was the sound that woke him up. Prying himself from the cot Yuki moved barefoot round the room and through the doorway. Close to the bedroom a small stove burned warmly and a kettle atop it sang to its finish.

Yuki looked curiously at it then turned toward the far door. On a rug between the two doors Kyo lay fast asleep. Limbs cocked at wide angles the raven haired man dozed peacefully through the kettles call. Dirt layered Kyo's clothes and visible skin brown and gray. A catnap, Yuki thought ironically before stepping round the sleeping form. He almost knelt beside Kyo but then, remembering, thought better of it. He looked for his satchel instead and was pacified to find it still hanging beside the door – untouched.

As Yuki removed the kettle he tried to be quiet. Four years away and his pining for the cat had not waned. Rather, Yuki had only come to understand the feelings more clearly. With time he had come to discern memories from one another until he knew each story.

"You don't have to do that," Kyo mumbled groggily from the floor. He sat up and rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes. Yuk smiled in reply but said nothing. He served tea and smiled complacently then, just when Kyo opened his mouth to speak, he stood. Kyo looked up from the brim of his cup as Yuki reached for his satchel. Kyo's red irises watched in curiosity but he closed jaw instead of asking.

"You're invited to dinner a week from today. Grandfather and Grandmother would greatly enjoy the chance to see you," Yuki informed. His eyes never left the floor. Yet he smiled when Kyo nodded an affirmative. Then Yuki left.

&

Kyo strode through the pasture. Lilacs had been planted recently and they clung to his trousers as he passed like fingers of an eager child. A smile lit his features as he stared in a semi-circle around him at all of the green. His own land was this green but it didn't feel as at home as Martin's. Years of tilling the same dirt and now it felt more like his then his own pastures could.

Among the tallest of grass, sunken in among the lilacs, Yuki lay asleep. His dark brown hair fanned out behind him as he was curled around a pad of paper. Sidestepping the open satchel Kyo saw that Yuki's cheek was pressed to the dirt. With cheeks flushed from sleeping in the breeze the boy looked so young. Kyo, only three years older, felt so old in comparison. Yuki's face was cleanly shaven and his lips black from chewing on his quill again. Rubbing at his own chin Kyo contemplated shaving his own beard free.

Yuki murmured in his sleep and Kyo knelt beside him as if to catch the words escaping. Thin, inked fingers released the pad of parchment just enough for Kyo to get a good look. What he saw left him shocked. In black ink his own face looked back at him, sketches of his eyes covered every other available space. Kyo's heart thumped in warning as his legs buzzed with the urge to run far away – a reaction he could not understand. Instead Kyo took hold of the satchel and sat facing the curl of Yuki's knees. He watched the rising chest fill then lower with Yuki's breath as he searched through the satchel.

Kyo found pages in English and also in languages he could not read but on nearly every page there were sketches of cat-like eyes, of his own jaw line. One with a cat and a mouse acting uncharacteristically peaceful, another was a march of creatures and a banquet. But most were of Kyo's eyes.

A mumbled word and Kyo looked down just in time to see Yuki's eyes open sleepily. Automatically a smile lit the younger man's lips as he regarded Kyo but it only lasted until he noticed the pages in Kyo's grasp.

"I can explain," Yuki exclaimed hurriedly. Kyo looked down at him with a calm visage and all excuses cleared from the brunette's mind leaving his lips to stutter incoherently.

"By all means," Kyo said his voice a deeper rumble then Yuki remembered.

Yuki felt his world begin to fall apart and for all he could do his eyes had begun to itch painfully. He had tried so hard to keep it a secret but now it seemed Kyo would hate him. He covered his eyes with his palms and shook with frustration. Fingers curled around Yuki's wrists and tugged gently until the man looked up into red irises. A kindly smile covered Kyo's face and though his eyes were glancing about Yuki's face with confusion he did not look angry. Yuki nearly choked at the sight.

"Admittedly," Kyo murmured as he tugged their bodies closer. He slid his hands up Yuki's arms and wrapped his fingers loosely about his elbows. "I do not understand these feelings myself but we both seem to have had them for quite a while. It is quite a relief."

Then he threw out propriety – and common sense – to press a kiss to the corner of Yuki's lips. Violet irises fluttered shut and fingers rose hesitantly to hold to Kyo's forearms. Kyo drew back slowly and Yuki followed, pressing his lips to the corner of Kyo's lips.

"Yes, a relief," Yuki answered when they both drew back. Then he laughed and held tighter to Kyo who held as tightly back. They laughed and leaned, pressing their foreheads together until their eyes had closed in calm. They breathed warm air between them that made up for the up rise of a cooler breeze around them.

Slowly, as if exhausted and shivering slightly despite their jumpers the two lay in the grass. Kyo laid his head on Yuki's shoulder and thin, inky fingers rose to trace idly through the knotted black hair. Sleeping more peacefully then he imagined he ever had (or would) Kyo drifted through dreams of blurry images. The pulse of Yuki's heart below his ear grew louder as he turned to curl about the young man and press his cold nose against Yuki's neck.

After dinner Kyo's buzzing head became heated with a headache. It felt unfair he thought as he stared at his mostly full plate. Acadia fussed and jokingly accused her husband of letting Kyo go too soon. His breath became uneven until he was nearly panting from hiding his illness. A groan escaped Kyo unwillingly and soon the rest of the table was watching him with worry.

Head pressed to his palm Kyo slowly but sternly convinced Martin and Acadia that he could make it back to his home. His illness had just cropped up and the thought of passing it to the now gray haired couple scared him. Kyo excused himself as soon as the wind seemed less harsh he gathered himself together and began to walk.

From the darkness of the road Yuki appeared with another coat and a scarf. It was clear that Martin and Acadia wanted their Grandson to watch over Kyo but it wasn't involuntary on Yuki's part. He wrapped an arm about Kyo's waist and they pushed through the nipping cold. They stumbled through the threshold together and as Kyo tugged his boots off Yuki set the kettle to boil. The buzzing grew like a deep pulsing drum in Kyo's head and he begged Yuki to leave the kettle alone. He could not stand the thought of the whistling water. Purple irises stared mournfully at him but Yuki agreed quickly.

Yuki moved to the bed and gathered the seated figure against his chest. He ran fingers through Kyo's hair in a comforting manner. He tried to rub heat into Kyo's body, thinking it was a cold ailing the raven-haired man.

"Tell me what to do," Yuki murmured desperately.

Kyo took a strong hold of Yuki's wrists and pulled Yuki into the bed beside him. Curling in around his own pain Kyo dragged Yuki's arm over his waist so the younger man was curled behind him. Kyo held Yuki fast as the pounding made him moan with pain. Yuki curved tighter against the shaking spine, sliding his free arm beneath Kyo's head in hope of cushioning it more then the worn rag of a pillow could. He drew circles on Kyo's stomach and listened to the pained moans until sleep over took them.

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So I decided to continue with this story plot- train of thought - but their going to be interwoven as drabbles. And to keep from being confusing Yuki and Kyo will always be named Yuki and Kyo.


	3. Recollect: Simpleton Heartbeats

Because Long Road Home doesn't need updating (?)

Two pieces of exposition for two carnations.

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**Simpleton's Matter**

**Present Frame of Mind**

Memories of green grass two centuries away and a time when Yuki's hair was brown dragged Kyo into (welcome) sleep…

Upon awakening Kyo felt as if he'd weathered a storm. His limbs were heavy from sleep and his eyelids stuck together. With great effort he blinked awake, staring at the ceiling as his senses came alive. Curled away from him, Yuki breathed softly. The pale stretch of bare skin was smooth to the touch; Kyo ran his fingers over the outlines of Yuki's spine just to feel the bones and heartbeat beneath. Warmth radiated from the touch.

The afternoon sun shone through the window over their heads, the clocked ticked away at the desk before their feet. Kyo wiggled his toes, stretched his fingers, and then slid silently from the bed. The floorboards in Yuki's room were covered by a warming rug, for which Kyo was grateful. Kyo wiggled his toes, again, over the material. It was foreign to stand naked in front of these four white wash walls. He stretched his arms above his head, shaking free the tension he no longer contained. Kyo's spine voiced release and beneath his chest his blood pumped slowly, calm and relaxed. Sensibility had crashed over him sometime in the night.

Carefully, Kyo left with what little clothes had followed into the room clutched beneath his arm. He padded the hallway unconcerned with his nudity. A light snoring sound came from the confines of Shigure's office and the kitchen was the same as Tohru had left it the day before. Kyo assumed Hana and Uo had kidnapped the girl for another night. An ancient rumble started at the base of his throat but Kyo failed to define if it was of pleasure or frustration. Instead the cat gathered the discarded clothes and rung out the rain soaked items before dumping them in the washroom.

He stole into the fridge as the house itself groaned. Fingers tightened around the milk container and red eyes scanned the space around them. Feeling idle Kyo could do nothing but grow worried about the consequences of his and Yuki's coupling.

"The evidence is gone," he growled chidingly to himself. Then he chugged half the carton.

Yuki surfaced into a lonely bed. Afternoon light was in full strength and the sight made him cringe and moan. He clutched his head like a mad man as it pulsed with the pain of being run down by a train.

Kyo had whispered, "_Relax_."

Yuki choked on the memory as his limbs felt as heavy as lead. It was a fight between strained muscles and the burning sun. With a whimper of aggravation Yuki dropped his hands to the mattress –heavy. Tears collected in the corners of his eyes as the sun burned through his eyelids. Muscles ached where they had never before – not in this lifetime. Running a hand down his thighs, fingers cold against the veined flesh, Yuki finally opened his eyes. Cutting off another panting groan Yuki pulled his chest and knees together, meeting where he sat on the mattress. The sheets fell about him and for a moment thin fingers held fast to his knees.

The floor was bare of any sign of dirty clothing but Yuki didn't notice. His pulsing mind was aware of the ebbing headache; it began to feel like any other morning.

When the door slid open once more Yuki had managed to wrangle some briefs up his legs. From the threshold Kyo watched the rat struggle to get a shirt over his head. Seated on the bed, Yuki had one arm through the sleeve while the other arm was hidden below the wrist. Merely a lump beneath the blue material, beside the impressions that were Yuki's nose and lips. Never one for modesty, Kyo chuckled aloud.

The headless body swiveled to face the door and nearly toppled over from loss of balance. Kyo laughed outright as he watched Yuki tug himself free. Yuki sent Kyo a withering look as he dropped his head to his palm. He stared tiredly at Kyo as smiles started slowly on their faces.

Some of Yuki's bed addled hair fell into his eyes as he turned his head slowly to watch Kyo close the door. As the redhead sat on the bed beside Yuki he tried to tuck the hair back but it merely fell back down.

"Thanks," Yuki murmured. A dry laugh escaped his lips as his eyes slid closed. Kyo hummed through a grin, watching the tired being beside him. His fingers untangled from Yuki's hair and traced down to high cheekbones. Rubbing a thumb over the pale skin Kyo inspected the visible bite marks. Yuki moaned softly as Kyo's thumb traced the back of his ear.

"Good morning, love."

Kyo caught the corner of yawning lips and murmured a greeting in return. His nose continued on, to nuzzle against Yuki's ear. His eyelashes grazed against gray eyebrows just as the lips turned to catch together head on. Kyo stared at Yuki's closed eyes as he leaned his head against the boy's forehead. The rat looked exhausted, six hours of sleep not being but what he usually aimed for. Kyo whispered this humorously to Yuki who growled playfully.

"Stupid cat." Amethyst eyes opened and blinked into red irises. The cat stared at him with worry and Yuki couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm not fragile," he reminded Kyo. However, he did not hinder Kyo's attempts to put him back to bed. As the sheets were pulled back up around them Yuki curled around Kyo's back. The redheaded shivered when lips pressed at the base of his neck.

"Your nose is freezing," Kyo teased as the lips were replaced. A yawn stretched across his back before even breathing warmed his naked skin. The arms about his waist tightened and the wakeful creature felt like a completed puzzle – as corny to think as it was. Kyo laced his fingers with the group lain upon his hip. Yuki murmured into his ear and then their hearts threatened to fall into time.

Words dashed wildly at Kyo's lips, threatening to spill and spoil everything they touched. They were paranoid words, justified words, and terrified words. A whimper escaped the cat's lips but he clenched his eyes shut and tried to shut that out. Yuki's offer hung over his head and threatened with a single word. Wanting to escape Kyo turned in the clenching arms and faced Yuki. Kyo pulled the laced fingers with him and held them beneath his chin. The other hand shifted but held on across his back. A smile curved the pale lips, flush on cheeks and a sleepy murmur from Yuki. Kyo kissed the lips to escape tears and words. Yuki continued to smile.

"I have slept half a century in wait," the rat murmured. "Tell me what haunts you."

"In half a year I'm to be thrown in a cage."

**Heartbeats **

**19th Century**_  
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The sun was shining through the curtains when Yuki awoke and Kyo was hovered above him. Kyo's hands were clenched on either side of Yuki's head and his muscles running from his wrists to his shoulder blades were tense. A look of inquiry was on Kyo's face as their eyes met, then red irises narrowed. Yuki voice caught in his throat only to be released when Kyo leaned down to press their lips together.

It was a test Yuki found as he watched Kyo pull back. Hesitantly, feeling like he was on fragile ice, Yuki raised his hands to Kyo's temples.

"Rat," Kyo murmured. Yuki's hands froze half an inch from the older man's skin. His purple eyes widened in horror and his heart began to beat wildly.

Kyo chuckled lowly in his throat, a smile finally appearing over his features. Leaning his head against one palm Kyo raised his hand to pull Yuki's other palm against his skin. He closed his eyes and the smile curled with an air of mischievousness.

"I've missed you too," Kyo murmured before turning his head to kiss each palm in turn.

Yuki hovered between tears and rage. Choosing middle ground, Yuki ran his fingers down Kyo's jaw line, over the beard and back onto smooth skin, feeling Kyo's collar bones when he slipped the tips of his fingers below the warm clothing.

"So you do remember," Yuki stated. The curse word went without saying and the two men laughed. Their fingers roamed beneath shirts and over warm skin – creating a choir of gasps and groans.


End file.
